Albertsons Companies (ACI)
NYSE:ACI
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Albertsons Companies
(NYSE:ACI)
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Rating:61Neutral
Price Target:
$18.50
▲(5.90% Upside)
Action:ReiteratedDate:02/28/26
The score is held back primarily by high leverage and thinner recent profitability despite solid cash generation. Offsetting factors include a reasonable valuation with a supportive dividend, generally steady/neutral technicals, and an earnings update that emphasized continued growth initiatives and productivity progress while acknowledging meaningful near-term headwinds.
Positive Factors
Digital & AI traction
Sustained 21% digital growth and ~9.5% penetration indicate durable secular shift to online fulfillment and higher-frequency engagement. Combined with AI (Ask AI raised basket ~10%) and partnerships (Google, OpenAI, Databricks), this supports higher basket, better personalization, and long-term margin and retention improvements.
Negative Factors
High leverage
Very high debt relative to equity (debt-to-equity ~6.2x) materially limits financial flexibility. Even with recent refinancing to extend maturities, elevated leverage amplifies downside risk from sales/earnings shocks, increases interest sensitivity and constrains ability to fund strategic investments without raising cost or refinancing risk.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Digital & AI traction
Sustained 21% digital growth and ~9.5% penetration indicate durable secular shift to online fulfillment and higher-frequency engagement. Combined with AI (Ask AI raised basket ~10%) and partnerships (Google, OpenAI, Databricks), this supports higher basket, better personalization, and long-term margin and retention improvements.
Read all positive factors
Albertsons Companies (ACI) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$8.98B
Dividend Yield3.49%
Average Volume (3M)5.92M
Price to Earnings (P/E)8.3
Beta (1Y)0.10
Revenue Growth2.08%
EPS Growth-1.63%
CountryUS
Employees108,300
SectorConsumer Defensive
Sector Strength42
IndustryGrocery Stores
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)0.72
Shares Outstanding513,913,150
10 Day Avg. Volume5,131,865
30 Day Avg. Volume5,924,373
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio-0.47
Price to Book (P/B)3.52
Price to Sales (P/S)0.15
P/FCF Ratio15.91
Enterprise Value/Market Cap2.77
Enterprise Value/Revenue0.30
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit1.12
Enterprise Value/Ebitda5.99
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$20.00Price Target Upside14.48% Upside
Rating ConsensusModerate Buy
Number of Analyst Covering6
EPS Forecast (FY)2.27
Revenue Forecast (FY)$82.84B
Albertsons Companies Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Albertsons Companies, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of food and drug stores in the United States. The company's food and drug retail stores offer grocery products, general merchandise, health and beauty care products, ph...
How the Company Makes Money
Albertsons Companies generates revenue primarily through the sale of groceries and related products in its supermarkets. The company's revenue model is based on both in-store sales and online grocery delivery services, which have seen significant ...
Albertsons Companies Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Jan 07, 2026
(Q3-2025)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Apr 14, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call highlighted strong execution across digital, pharmacy, loyalty, and productivity initiatives with solid Q3 results (2.4% identical sales growth, 21% digital growth, $1.039B adjusted EBITDA) and clear strategic investments in AI and retail media. Management also outlined disciplined capital allocation and balance-sheet actions. Offsetting these positives are macro-related headwinds (government/SNAP timing), the Medicare drug-price negotiation that creates meaningful top-line headwinds to comparables (noted 65–70 bps in Q4 and modeling risk into 2026), continued industry unit-volume pressure, and near-term gross margin mix impacts. Overall, the positives (accelerating digital and pharmacy growth, loyalty expansion, productivity gains and a clear transformation roadmap) materially outweigh the challenges, though the company flagged notable near-term risks that require monitoring.Positive Updates
Same-Store (Identical) Sales Growth
Identical sales (ID sales) grew 2.4% in Q3; company narrowed FY25 identical sales outlook to a 2.2%–2.5% range.
Negative Updates
Macro Headwinds: Government Shutdown & SNAP Delays
Temporary headwinds from a government shutdown and SNAP payment delays negatively impacted identical sales by approximately 10–20 basis points in Q3.
Read all updates
Q3-2025 Updates
Positive
Negative
Same-Store (Identical) Sales Growth
Identical sales (ID sales) grew 2.4% in Q3; company narrowed FY25 identical sales outlook to a 2.2%–2.5% range.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Albertsons narrowed fiscal 2025 guidance to identical sales of 2.2–2.5% (with an estimated 65–70 bps Q4 headwind from the Inflation Reduction Act, ~16–18 bps full‑year, with no EBITDA impact), adjusted EBITDA of $3.825–3.875 billion (including ~ $65 million in Q4 for the 53rd week), adjusted EPS of $2.08–2.16, an effective tax rate of 23–24%, and capital expenditures of $1.8–1.9 billion; management reiterated capital priorities (invest in the business, maintain/grow the dividend, opportunistic buybacks) including a $750 million accelerated share repurchase completing in early 2026 and $1.3 billion remaining on a $2.75 billion authorization, while reporting a net debt/adjusted EBITDA ratio of 2.29x. For context, Q3 results cited on the call included identical sales +2.4%, digital sales +21% (9.5% penetration), adjusted EBITDA $1.039 billion, adjusted EPS $0.72, pharmacy sales +18%, Q3 capex $462 million, gross margin 27.4% (‑55 bps YoY ex‑fuel/LIFO), SG&A rate 24.9% (‑33 bps YoY ex‑fuel/LIFO), loyalty ~49.8 million members, and a $1.5 billion productivity target over the next three fiscal years.Albertsons Companies Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
58
Neutral
Balance Sheet
35
Negative
Cash Flow
66
Positive
| Breakdown | TTM | Feb 2025 | Feb 2024 | Feb 2023 | Feb 2022 | Feb 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 81.72B | 80.39B | 79.24B | 77.65B | 71.89B | 69.69B |
| Gross Profit | 22.24B | 22.26B | 22.05B | 21.76B | 20.72B | 20.41B |
| EBITDA | 4.15B | 4.08B | 4.53B | 4.85B | 4.87B | 3.78B |
| Net Income | 870.00M | 958.60M | 1.30B | 1.51B | 1.62B | 850.20M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 27.09B | 29.31B | 28.79B | 28.75B | 30.77B | 29.39B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 214.50M | 339.20M | 212.00M | 477.20M | 2.97B | 1.78B |
| Total Debt | 15.43B | 14.18B | 14.24B | 15.01B | 15.30B | 16.07B |
| Total Liabilities | 24.59B | 25.92B | 26.05B | 27.14B | 27.75B | 28.06B |
| Stockholders Equity | 2.50B | 3.39B | 2.75B | 1.61B | 3.02B | 1.32B |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 2.08B | 749.40M | 628.20M | 700.00M | 1.91B | 2.27B |
| Operating Cash Flow | 3.98B | 2.68B | 2.66B | 2.85B | 3.51B | 3.90B |
| Investing Cash Flow | -2.60B | -1.89B | -1.75B | -1.98B | -1.54B | -1.57B |
| Financing Cash Flow | -1.41B | -684.10M | -1.18B | -3.37B | -789.50M | -1.04B |
Albertsons Companies Technical Analysis
Neutral
17.47
Price Trends
17.49
Negative
17.38
Positive
18.14
Negative
Market Momentum
0.06
Negative
51.07
Neutral
69.92
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For ACI, the sentiment is Neutral. The current price of 17.47 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 17.29, below the 50-day MA of 17.49, and below the 200-day MA of 18.14, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of 0.06 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 51.07 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 69.92 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Neutral sentiment for ACI.
Albertsons Companies Risk Analysis
Albertsons Companies disclosed 38 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Albertsons Companies reported the most risks in the "Production" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Albertsons Companies Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (62)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
65 Neutral | $7.19B | 15.05 | 38.21% | ― | 16.60% | 49.76% | |
62 Neutral | $20.33B | 14.63 | -3.31% | 3.23% | 1.93% | -12.26% | |
61 Neutral | $8.98B | 8.31 | 28.54% | 3.49% | 2.08% | -1.63% | |
60 Neutral | $1.77B | 11.86 | 5.93% | 0.93% | -5.42% | -20.80% | |
58 Neutral | $1.81B | 17.84 | 6.83% | 2.06% | 3.11% | 6.54% | |
55 Neutral | $43.09B | 40.33 | 13.04% | 2.15% | -1.77% | -70.83% | |
46 Neutral | $689.03M | -4.43 | -19.78% | ― | 7.22% | -108.99% |
* Consumer Defensive Sector Average
ACI
Albertsons Companies
17.47
-3.24
-15.66%
IMKTA
Ingles Markets
95.23
31.93
50.44%
KR
Kroger Company
70.35
3.81
5.73%
WMK
Weis Markets
73.04
-6.93
-8.67%
SFM
Sprouts Farmers
76.02
-77.90
-50.61%
GO
Grocery Outlet Holding
7.02
-7.19
-50.60%
Albertsons Companies Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
Albertsons Adds Tech-Focused Independent Director to Board
Positive
Feb 27, 2026
On February 25, 2026, Albertsons Companies, Inc. appointed Brian Rice, Executive Vice President and Global Chief Information Officer at McDonald’s Corporation, to its Board of Directors, expanding the board from 10 to 11 members for a term r...
Business Operations and StrategyPrivate Placements and Financing
Albertsons Companies Issues New Senior Notes to Refinance Debt
Positive
Feb 2, 2026
On February 2, 2026, Albertsons Companies and certain subsidiaries issued $1.2 billion of new 5.625% senior notes due 2032 and $900 million of additional 5.750% senior notes due 2034 in a private offering to institutional and non-U.S. investors un...
Business Operations and StrategyPrivate Placements and Financing
Albertsons launches refinancing to extend debt maturities
Positive
Jan 22, 2026
On January 22, 2026, Albertsons Companies and several subsidiaries launched a refinancing push in the bond market, announcing plans to redeem in cash the full $1.35 billion of 4.625% senior notes due 2027 and the $750 million of 5.875% senior note...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.